Isski
IN SHORT An eccentric stranger hopping between Rise and the wastes, easily identified by his box-shaped head and constant music surrounding him. Engineer and freelance hacker, Isski loves anything tech-related and can often be found tinkering with one thing or another, or reading up on the latest developments. He specializes in Software engineering and robotics, with his own companion Kevin, the spiderbot, constantly at his side. Suffers heavily from Splicer sickness. VISUAL DESCRIPTION At present, there are only three people other than himself that have seen Isski's real face. He has, on occasion, been seen wearing short-sleeved shirts revealing some monochromatic, black/grey-scaled and horribly scarred forearms. As far as other records are concerned, Isski's body is completely covered from head to toe at all times, including when sleeping. The most obvious feature is the box-shaped head, a seemingly patchwork piece of technology made up of several smaller metal plates welded and bolted onto one another. It's worn diagonally, with one of its edges pointing forward, essentially making the two front-facing sides the face. Both halves have an odd number of green, glowing glass lights masquerading as eyes, that each flicker and turn on or off seemingly at random. In the middle sits a hatch cut into the cube that is kept shut by multiple shingles that only seem to slide open when food is brought near them. The left side of his face also features what appears to be a vent, and there is a pair of nondescript canisters attached to his back, with a pipe leading their contents inside. Isski almost always wears a scarf of some type around his neck, covering the seam between the mask and his shirt. Most commonly, he can be seen with loose-fitting, open jackets and coats, with a single-colored shirt underneath, as well as black leather gloves. When not on Corsair or Marshal duty, he generally tries to coordinate his outfit into a black-and-green combination. Full-length pants and high boots are also a staple of his wardrobe. His general shape is tall and more on the lanky side. His movements, as clumsy as they might look at times, always convey a sense of deliberation, and he rarely seems to move around more than he has to, although he does try to make an effort to make up for the lack of facial expressions with more liberal gesturing. While not a visual detail, it should be noted that Isski's voice can only be heard through a speaker in his helmet, giving it a slightly distorted, tinny undertone with the occasional bout of static during certain tones and syllables. He tends to use voice modifiers, with a few presets giving him a higher-pitched, lower-pitched or more "natural" voice depending on his mood. RENOWN / REPUTATION Most of Isski's reputation comes from his odd looks and mannerisms more than notable deeds. He keeps his affiliation with the Corsairs largely a secret and generally plays the role of the unassuming weirdo, knowingly averting eyes off of himself. He can often be seen dancing in the rain, talking to himself or his "son" Kevin, or seeking out random strangers around the streets for one mundane reason or another. He is known as a talented hacker and engineer, primarily in underground circles. He has helped revolutionize old, clunky power armor and was part of the small research team that invented and manufactured the first prototypes of Exo Suits, which have since started gaining popularity around the Colony and gone into mass production. Isski takes great pride in this achievement, not least because of the popularity "his" product has gained, and happily takes credit it for it with those who know about his ties with the Blood Corsairs. Among the Corsairs, Isski plays the role of the Hell's Forge's engineering commander, overseeing all things construction, maintenance and R&D, as well as acting as a general figure of authority as needed. Unlike most Blood Corsairs, Isski has a general distaste for combat, and is generally not seen frontlining any attacks, preferring to stay behind and mostly focus on his engineering duties. However, he has been seen taking charge and participatimg in combat ops when absolutely necessary. Isski on occasion claims that, while he is not human, he was "supposed to be" at one point. The topic is typically avoided. Any conversations regarding his real identity, including name, origin and especially questions regarding the nature of his "head" or what may or may not lie beneath it tend to prompt obviously negative responses, often resulting in him giving out obviously false information, leading the conversation in circles or actively trying to change topics. Any potentially real information is typically kept vague and mixed in with falsehoods. CURRENT AMBITIONS Born from the same DNA set as war splicers, but without actually serving as one, Isski has always been struggling with finding a sense of purpose in life. While that has thus far expressed itself as general, nonchalant nihilism and a lack of direction, as he ages and his degradation advances, more and more alarm bells are going off in his head, subconsciously shouting for him to find a purpose before he dies. Isski's biggest fear is to one day topple over or die in a bed, felled by his sickness, and ultimately leaving behind a life that served nothing and no one. As such, even though he may not consciously realize it, he is increasingly looking for someone or something to die for. In this pursuit, he has finally found some people he cared enough about to consider searching treatment for his genetic degradation, and is currently in the process of extending his limited lifespan at least long enough to stay alongside his loved ones as long as he needs to, and perhaps fulfill his purpose along the way... or at its end. GENERAL RELATIONS Blood Corsairs - Commander of Engineering Marshal Enforcement - Specialist Relation to: Blood Corsairs Space bois are best bois. - "I don't always agree with the violence. Most of the "good" people are gone. But the colony needs someone like us. To keep ColSec on their toes and challenge their absolute authority. Show them they can't do what they want unimpeded. I don't like killing. I build their tools. Someone has to. And it's a lot easier to protect your loved ones from the Bad Guy if you are the Bad Guy." Relation to: Colony Security (COLSEC) "They overstep their bounds. They lie, they steal, they kill, all under the guise of protectig the peace. They take pleasure in it, boast about it on the DataNet. The only difference between them and common thugs is legislation. DNA samples, mandatory chipping, and have you SEEN some of the scripts they run on the DataNet? They'll take enough info on you to figure out who your grandchildren will be before you even hooked up with anyone." Relation to: EarthGOV "They try. They also fail and try to make up for it with propaganda and massively filtered and biased news. Do not trust anything EGov puts out. Pinch of salt that shit." Relation to: Ex Praeda "I have literally no strong feelings for them one way or another." Relation to: JunkHounds "Scary! Haven't had any nasty run-ins with them, but they seem volatile and shaky with their desires and alliances." Relation to: Hel'Cathra "They do good trades, and they look adorable. I just wanna scritch 'em behind their ears, but I've been told that would be inappropriate. Probably a cultural thing. Relation to: Marshals "My home away from home. Or... second home, at this point. The people closest to me are here, and Marshal's flexible attitude towards existing affiliations and relationships is nothing if not respectable." Relation to: Sanctum "Pagan sex cult, I think. I dunno what's going on in there, but anyone that hangs out with them changes. Usually not for the better. They might mostly stick to themselves, and I can totally respect that, but I don't want anything to do with it." Relation to: The Order "Militaristic Sanctum. I've heard some horror stories, and if you ask me, anyone wearing roman-inspired armor is probably not on the good side of the alignment charts. But I haven't actually seen them do anything. Like, at all. BACKGROUND / LIFE BEFORE ROE When confronted about his past life, Isski likes to make up very obvious bullshit stories without any regard for how obviously fake they are. However, in some more genuine moments, there have been some consistent claims: Isaac Barnes was born on mining station Gata-2, a formerly megacorp-owned station orbiting Saturn near its belt that had been decommissioned and bought up by an eccentric, religiously fanatic splicer billionaire. Isaac was conceived as a human, however, after his mother was coerced into joining the cult on Gata-2 and becoming a splicer herself, her baby was subjected to a mess of last-minute "emergency" splicing, turning him into what he is now. Owing to his origins, Isaac developed dissociative disorders at an early age, falling out of identity with himself, and mostly remaining detached from the people around him. Preferring the comfort of his own room, a young Isaac obsessively dove into engineering and coding, disassembling and rebuilding electronics, programming rudimentary control huds and eventually building his first drones. Unfortunately, his pursuit for ever more parts eventually drove him to break into one of the station's storage units, a crime that did not go unnoticed. As was customary for misdeeds of this caliber, the High Priest placed upon Isaac's head a featureless metal cube, only two small holes to barely see out of, both a sign of the boy's crimes to others, as well as a chamber of silent contemplation of his own deeds, so that he may eventually reflect, and rehabilitate. This, as one might figure, did not happen. Throughout years of abuse by those responsible for overseeing his rehabilitation, Isaac remained locked in his metal box, only having a small hole at the bottom removed during meals, to eat and drink. He didn't leave the station until he was a young adult, when a malfunction with the station's debris defense systems prompted a mass evacuation. Isaac manged to save himself to an escape pod, eventually picked up by a larger trade ship. He was allowed to stay until the next stop, provided he'd use his technical expertise to make himself useful on board. He learned a lot about maintenance of larger ships during this time, and, of course, the moment he had a chance, took some tools to break that goddamn box off his head. The damage, however, had already been done. Seeing his face in the mirror for the first time in years, Isski didn't recognize this stranger. At least, not as himself. Feeling the air on his face felt alien, linked to those few moments it came off in the past, for his "evaluation" talks. He became nervous. Uneasy. He felt naked and lost. And eventually, he saw no other cure for his ailments than to slip that dreaded box back on his head. Heavily modified, of course, kitted out with enough tech to allow him to function normally. For the first time in his life, he wasn't what someone decided he should be, but a product of his own decisions, a person of his own making. Isaac, he decided, died with the injections to his mother's womb. Isski spent most of the following years cruising by on larger ships and hopping between stations, living on the merits of his technical skills to afford fare, shelter and food, and only setting foot on a planet's surface for the first time when he arrived on Earth in 2129. Category:Player Character Category:Character